Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets are an English rock band formed in 2018 to perform the early music of

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

. The band comprises the Pink Floyd drummer and co-founder

Nick Mason Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...

, the bassist Guy Pratt, the guitarists

Gary Kemp Gary James Kemp (born 16 October 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet. Kemp wrote the lyrics and music ...

and Lee Harris, and the keyboardist Dom Beken. As many fans had discovered Pink Floyd with their bestselling 1973 album ''The'' ''Dark Side of the Moon'', Mason wanted to bring their earlier material to a wider audience. The band made their debut in May 2018 at

Dingwalls Dingwalls was a live music and comedy venue adjacent to Camden Lock, Camden, London, England. The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings that were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, ...

, London, before embarking on a European tour in September 2018 and a North American tour in 2019. A 2020 European tour was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In September 2020, the band released a live album and film, ''Live at the Roundhouse.''

Formation

, one of the most commercially successful and influential rock bands of all time, were formed in London in 1965 by

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his ...

(guitar, lead vocals),

(drums),

Roger Waters George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served as the bassist, but following the departure of singer-so ...

(bass guitar, vocals), and Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals). Barrett left in 1968, and was replaced by

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

; Waters left in 1985 and Wright died in 2008. While Gilmour and Waters continue to perform Pink Floyd material in their solo shows, Mason worked on Pink Floyd reissues and compilations. After assisting with '' Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains'', a 2017 museum exhibition about Pink Floyd, Mason said: "You end up feeling like you belong to

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. Everything you talk about and do is something that happened forty years ago. It was actually beginning to make me feel a bit old." In 2018, the guitarist Lee Harris, formerly of the Blockheads, approached the bassist and Pink Floyd collaborator Guy Pratt about Mason forming a band to perform Pink Floyd's early

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

material, recorded while Barrett was the bandleader. The new band was joined by the vocalist and guitarist

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European Da ...

and the keyboardist Dom Beken, a collaborator of Wright. Pratt and Beken previously worked together in the electronic band Transit Kings. Mason stressed that Kemp was not "taking the place" of Barrett, but that "it was to do with who had the enthusiasm for it, and Gary did". According to Mason, in early rehearsals, "The interesting thing was that it all sort of began to sound good straight away. That was mainly, I think, driven by their enthusiasm." As many fans had discovered Pink Floyd with their bestselling 1973 album ''The'' ''Dark Side of the Moon'', Mason wanted to bring their earlier material to a wider audience''.'' He said he did not want to perform as a

tribute act A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist, such as Elv ...

similar to the

Australian Pink Floyd Show The Australian Pink Floyd Show, more frequently referred to as the Australian Pink Floyd, is a Pink Floyd tribute band formed in 1988 in Adelaide, South Australia. Their live shows attempt to recreate the look, feel, and sound of Pink Floyd' ...

or perform shows similar to those by Waters and Gilmour; the band wanted to "capture the spirit" of the music rather than recreate it. They received the blessings of Gilmour and Waters. The band takes its name from the second Pink Floyd album, '' A Saucerful of Secrets'' (1968)''.''

Performances

Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets made their debut at a sold-out test show at

, a 500-seat club in London, in May 2018. This was followed by three small shows at the Half Moon, Putney, a European tour in September 2018, and a North American tour in 2019. On 18 April 2019, Waters surprised the audience at the New York Beacon Theatre by joining the band to sing "

Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, appearing on their second album, '' A Saucerful of Secrets'' (1968). It was written by Roger Waters, taking lyrics from a Chinese poetry book, and featu ...

". A 2020 European tour was postponed to April 2022 due to the

. A second North American tour was postponed from January 2022 to September.

Band members

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

, bell,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Guy Pratt – bass,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, occasional percussion *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s, vocals * – guitars,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

* Dom Beken –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, programming, backing vocals

Releases

In September 2020, the band released a live album and film, ''Live at the Roundhouse.'' A single featuring "

See Emily Play "See Emily Play" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, released as their second single in June 1967. Written by original frontman Syd Barrett, it was released as a non-album single, but appeared as the opening track of the U.S. edition of ...

" and "Vegetable Man" was released for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

''Live at the Roundhouse'' track listing

Disc 1

Interstellar Overdrive "Interstellar Overdrive" is an instrumental composition written and performed by Pink Floyd. The song was written in 1966 and is on their 1967 debut album, ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'', clocking in at almost ten minutes in length. The son ...

" (

, Richard Wright,

) – 5:49 #"

Astronomy Domine "Astronomy Domine" (alternative "Astronomy Dominé") is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. The song, written and composed by the original vocalist/guitarist Syd Barrett, is the opening track on their debut album, ''The Piper at the Ga ...

" (Barrett) – 4:11 #"

Lucifer Sam "Lucifer Sam" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd, featured on the band's debut album ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' (1967). Music and lyrics The song is built around a descending riff, with the dominant instrument being composer Syd ...

" (Barrett) – 3:12 #"

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

" (

, Waters) – 5:02 #"Obscured by Clouds" (Gilmour, Waters) – 4:27 #"When You're In" (Gilmour, Waters, Wright, Mason) – 1:55 #" Remember a Day" (Wright) – 3:32 #"

Arnold Layne "Arnold Layne" is a song by English rock band Pink Floyd. Released on 10 March 1967, it was the band's first single release. It was written by Syd Barrett. Lyrics The song's title character is a transvestite whose strange hobby is stealing wo ...

" (Barrett) – 3:15 #"

Vegetable Man "Vegetable Man" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, written by the frontman, Syd Barrett, and recorded in 1967. It was considered for a release as a single or for inclusion on their second album, ''A Saucerful of Secrets'', but went unr ...

" (Barrett) – 2:27 #" If" (Waters) – 1:55 #"

Atom Heart Mother ''Atom Heart Mother'' is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It was released by Harvest on 2 October 1970 in the UK, and by Capitol on 10 October 1970 in the US. It was recorded at EMI Studios (now Abbey Ro ...

" (Gilmour, Waters, Wright, Mason,

Ron Geesin Ronald Frederick Geesin (born 17 December 1943) is a Scottish musician, composer and writer known for his unusual creations and novel applications of sound, as well as for his collaborations with Pink Floyd and Roger Waters. Career Ron Geesin ...

) – 7:14 #"If (Reprise)" (Waters) – 1:52 #"

The Nile Song "The Nile Song", written by Roger Waters and sung by David Gilmour, is the second song from Pink Floyd's 1969 album ''More (soundtrack), More'', the soundtrack to More (1969 film), the film of the same name. It was released as a single in 1969 (o ...

" (Waters) – 3:37

Disc 2

#" Green Is the Colour" (Waters) – 4:07 #"

Let There Be More Light "Let There Be More Light" is the opening track on Pink Floyd's second album, '' A Saucerful of Secrets''. It was also released in edited form as the fourth American single by the group. Writing and recording The song is written by Roger Waters. I ...

" (Waters) – 3:37 #"

Childhood's End ''Childhood's End'' is a 1953 science fiction novel by the British author Arthur C. Clarke. The story follows the peaceful alien invasionBooker & Thomas 2009, pp. 31–32. of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival begins decade ...

" (Gilmour) – 3:33 #"

" (Waters) – 12:21 #"

" (Barrett) – 3:03 #"

Bike A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

" (Barrett) – 2:23 #" One of These Days" (Gilmour, Waters, Wright, Mason) – 5:57 #" A Saucerful of Secrets" (Gilmour, Waters, Wright, Mason) – 9:17 #" Point Me at the Sky" (Gilmour, Waters) – 3:12

References

External links

* * {{Authority control English rock music groups Pink Floyd Nick Mason Musical groups established in 2018 2018 establishments in the United Kingdom